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ASU professor says restorative justice can help prevent shootings
Editor's note: This is part of a series of 39, investigations into armed violence from many angles. since the Columbine High School Massacre This school shooting, which took place on April 20, 1999 in Columbine, Colorado, killed 15 people and injured 24 people. Local authorities responded to the threat of school violence by implementing a number of security approaches. Despite their best efforts, shootings in K-12 public schools still occur regularly; Since Columbine, more than 215,000 students have experienced school violence since Columbine.
In response to recent school shootings, districts are increasingly relying on high-tech security systems developed for the military, police and the private sector. Many public schools now have resource officers, metal detectors, security cameras, lock exercises and active sniper training, and expanded mental health screening and on-campus counseling
]. Carl Hermanns, an associate clinical professor at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University, is not enough. Before coming to the USS, Hermanns was a teacher, director, and deputy superintendent in public schools in California and Oregon.
Hermanns believes that "restorative justice" encourages students and teachers to thrive in a culture and climate of safety. and emotional support, can help reduce the possibility of targeted violence in schools.
ASU spoke to Hermanns about this transformative state of mind, which is beginning to spread in the public schools of the country
Carl Hermanns
Question: Let us define to readers what is justice Restorative justice and what it looks like
Answer: Restorative justice encompasses both mentalities and relationship practices within a safe, rigorous and caring school community. The end result, when done well, is a transformation of school culture where teachers and students feel a sense of belonging, connection and responsibility for the school community.
More specifically, supportive school discipline approaches such as restorative justice create the conditions for overcoming punitive punishments in many situations and for mutual accountability and individual responsibility to collectively repair the damage, re-establish relationships and strengthen relationships. the school community. justice is well applied, the data indicates that suspensions are reduced, disproportionality is reduced, and academic outcomes generally improve, and research and our experience suggest that these results are obtained because when restorative justice is well applied , discipline becomes just a small part of it because it really is a change in the school culture in general.
And it's important to note that restorative justice is not a quick fix, and it's not a program that can just be plugged in – it's about changing mindsets and practices, and who practices intentional and sustained practice on the role of adults and students, within the context of adequate school structures and resources, to build and maintain the kind of safe, caring school culture and climate and respectful that we all wish.
Q: How can restorative justice play a role in shootings in schools?
A: To answer this question, let's go back for a moment to what we know about school. shootings. First, when you consider the data on shootings in schools from the last 19 years, from Columbine to Santa Fe, the fact is that about 50 million students from kindergarten to 12th grade less than half of students and adults killed or injured in school shootings. So statistically, schools are one of the safest places you can be. Since 1965, because of the random nature of shootings in schools and the horrific consequences of these shootings, those of us in the schools have been frightened by the possibility that this will happen in the future. any school. , at any time. Therefore, since 1999, we have taken a number of steps to try to stop, or at least minimize the effect of shootings in schools. We have increased the number of school officers in schools, installed secure campus entrances in most schools and metal detectors in some schools, installed safety and fire drills, and installed security cameras and sophisticated security systems. And yet, the data do not indicate that these measures work globally. They are necessary because we have to do something to mitigate the danger, but they are clearly not enough.
So, what can we do next? To answer this question, it is helpful to return to the 2004 Threat Assessment Guidelines Report, which was a joint effort of the Secret Service and the US Department of Education. When you read this document, you can argue that we have implemented processes and procedures for assessing operational and structural threats to identify and arrest a student who is ready to leave, but we have not prioritized the cultural aspects. more complex to implement, are in fact the aspects that the document considers essential to mitigate violence in school. For example, here are two direct quotes from the Threat Assessment Guidelines:
- "Connection through human relations is a central element of a culture of safety and respect. This link is the critical emotional link between students and between students and adults charged with meeting the educational, social, emotional and safety needs of students.
- "Working effectively, creating a climate of respect and connection between adults and students must be accepted as an integral part of the threat assessment and management mission, and understood from top to bottom as part of integral to the success of the learning experience. "
A final piece of data the USDOE was trying to understand the shootings in schools, one thing that they discovered is that in most shootings in the schools, at least some other children knew or suspected that this was going to happen, but in the cases they studied, none of the students who knew about it contacted an adult in advance [19659007] and it is a means by which restorative justice can contribute to the safety of the school in shootings Restorative justice, as I mentioned earlier, is centered on the creation of and the proactive maintenance of authentic relationships and a sense of belonging, connection and community.And the sense of belonging and connection is what research, and our own experience, suggests can to be our best defense against shootings Because when children feel connected and that they really feel like they belong to school as members of a caring school community, they will tell us if something falls or risks falling, which could put the community at risk.
Q: It seems like students who treat each other with respect are an important part of restorative justice; because the brains of children and adolescents are not fully developed, it is not always a given. So, how do you teach them these skills?
A: In the context of restorative justice, it is a function of how we proactively create a sense of belonging and community among our children and between children and adults in schools. A way that has existed for many years, in different forms, is to ensure that students and teachers have the time to communicate with each other systematically and at regular intervals. In restorative justice, we talk about circles, but the basic idea is also reflected in morning meetings, councils or any other type of structure that creates the conditions for students and teachers to speak and speak. connect.
their joys, fears and feelings with their peers and their teachers in a circle, this leads to the development of authentic relationships, belonging and empathy – a community in which we truly know each other and who we really care. And as any fourth-grade teacher – or any other teacher – you would probably say, it's not going to magically make everyone's best friends, but when that kind of thing happens, it's not going to be the best thing. opportunity happens constantly, it helps to create caring communities. can practice – and teachers and administrators can model – empathy, respect and attention. Children want to connect and tell us how they feel; we just need to give them a chance to do it.
Q: Looks like restorative justice has community policing elements in that it is theoretically preventative but difficult to measure
A: I think that's probably right. Although I am not an expert in community policing, I understand that a fundamental element is to build trust and develop relationships within the community and then work proactively with the community to prevent crime and improve the community environment. So, with regard to a proactive effort to build relationships, connections and communities to develop and cultivate safe and caring cultures and climates and prevent disruptions and consequences that negatively affect students and teachers, I think As for the measure, I do not know how it works in community policing, but I know that when restorative justice is well implemented, research shows that suspensions and disproportion decrease and that culture and climate schoolchildren improve.
Photo above: An example of restorative justice in March 2017. Photo courtesy of Gwyneth Jones / Flickr.com
